Curtain-stretcher.



J. H. HILDRETH.

CURTAIN STRETOHBB.

APPLICATION rum) JUNE 16, 1911.

1,032,061. Patented July 9, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. H. HILDRETH.

CURTAIN STRETCHER.

urmoumn FILED mm. 16, 1911.

1,032,061 Patented July 9, 1912.

2 SHEETSBHEET 2- COLUMBIA PLANOGRAP" co wumuo'rou, uvc.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. HILDRETH, OF CLEVELAND, VIRGINIA.

CURTAIN-STRETCHER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. HILDRETH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Russell and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ourtain-Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

One object of the invention is to render curtain stretehers contractible and to house their prongs or teeth whereby the stretcher may occupy a minimum of space and its prongs or teeth be prevented from engaging with extraneous objects when not in use.

Other objects will appear and be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective of the device in set-up position. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the device folded. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of one end portion of the stretcher showing by full lines the same partly contracted and further showing by dotted lines the same partly folded. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through one of the sides. Fig. 5 is a similar view taken through one of the ends.

The frame a may be of any suitable terial such as light sheet metal and its may be varied by virtue of its sides I) and ends 0 which are rendered contractible and foldable from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, by the side sections 5 and 6 and the end sections 7 and 8. One of the side sections such as 5 has a longitudinal slot 9 which receives one element of a suitable clamp such as the shank of a screw 10 extending laterally from one end of the side section 6, and has also its lower side portion provided with a longitudinal guide 11 which receives the rolled lower edge 12 of the side 6. A keeper 13 connecting with the guide 11 extends through the rolled portion 12 of the section 6 and serves to prevent lateral displacement of the same in the guide 11. The opposite side sections 5 and 6 are constructed similarly to the side sections just described.

The sections 14 and 15 of the ends are adapted to slide one upon the other when it is desired to vary the width of the frame or to fold one upon the other when the device is not in use as shown in Fig. 2. Any preferred construction may be employed to permit the ends to operate as just described such as by forming longitudinal slots 16 in Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 16, 1911.

Patented July 9, 1912. Serial No. 633,455.

the sections 14, these slots receiving clamping elements such as screws 17 extending laterally from the ends of the sections 15, the shanks having nuts 18 threaded thereon which cooperate with the heads of the screws 17 to secure the sections in any position of adjustment, the shanks further serving as pivots for the sections 15 and sections 5 and 6 of the side when these elements are folded over the other side and end sections as shown in Fig. 2, in which position they may be locked by turning the nuts 18. The sections 14 are provided with guides 19 which receive the rolled lower edges 20 of the sections 15, the said guides having keepers 21 which extend into the rolled portions 20 and serve to prevent lateral displacement of the end sections until the latter have been fully extended. It will be seen that the outer end portions of the rolled edges are cut away as at 22 so that when the end sections 14 and 15 are fully extended the cut-away portions will be outwardly and beyond the keepers 21 whereby the sections 15 may be folded over the sections 14 turning on the screws as a pivot as previously described.

The upper side edges of the sides and ends are provided with vertical prongs or teeth 23 which pass through the meshes of the curtain to be stretched in a well-known manner. It will be observed that the major portions of the edges of the side and end sect-ions will be in juxtaposition when the parts are folded as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the teeth' 23 will be prevented from engaging with extraneous objects.

The supporting legs 24 are arranged at the corners of the frame and at the middle portions of the sides 6 thereof. The legs of the middle portions of the sides 5 are connected to the screws 10 and are retained by means of nuts 25 screwed on to the said screws. ith this construction it will be seen that the clamps which include the screws and nuts secure the side sections in any of their adjusted positions and at the same time lock the legs against movement. The legs of the corners of the frame are connected to the screws 26 and are held against displacement by means of nuts 27 screwed on to the said screws. With this construction it will be seen that all the legs may be folded parallel to the sides of the frame or at right angles thereto and secured as previously described.

Although I have shown and described one embodiment of the inventionit is to be understood that I am not to be limited to the specific structui'e herein shown and described nor the particular arrangement of parts, since it will be seen that various changes may he made, in the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim as new is:

In' a curtain stretcher, a metallic stretcher frame comprising four right angularshaped sections each of which has relatively long and short sides provided on their upper edges with spaced prongs, the shorter 15 and longer sides of each two of said sections being pivotally and slidably connected together and forming respectively the ends and sides of said frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 20;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

